TORONTO – The Raptors yesterday looked very closely at the tapes of their Game 1 playoff loss to the Nets. When the barf bags were used, taped and discarded, coach Sam Mitchell’s crew looked at one another and posed the same question.

How the heck were we so close?

“So many guys were just frantic and overwhelmed, we didn’t do the things we normally do,” said Toronto All-Star Chris Bosh after practice yesterday. “We did things like we were just programmed.”

To a man – and head coach – the Raptors showed absolutely no sign of panic over the 0-1 deficit they’ll face here tomorrow in the wake of the Nets’ 96-91 Saturday triumph. The Raptors admitted the whole playoff bit was new and they really were not prepared. Bosh said it was so physical, “I can’t even describe it” and admitted everything about the game “exceeded my expectations.”

So the Raptors have had a taste. They’ve seen how dangerous Jason Kidd can be. They’ve seen how Richard Jefferson can step up and be the game’s dominant scorer when Vince Carter plays like his shoelaces are tied together and he has darning needles in his eyes. The Raptors were bad, they know. They promise to be ready.

“There’s nothing we did that we can’t correct,” stressed Mitchell. “We just didn’t play well. We didn’t play well defensively. We didn’t play offensively. And to not play well in those two areas and still have a chance to win the game is encouraging . . . It’s one game.”

Two would be a different story. The Raptors know to fall down 0-2 on their home court would be a virtual playoff death sentence. The Nets came in supremely confident, despite being the six in the 3-6 seeding matchup so getting a first game jump certainly won’t bring them down. Conversely, the Raptors insist they could not have played worse – yet were within one point with under 3:00 left.

“With all we did wrong, we still had a chance,” said T.J. Ford.

“The tape doesn’t lie: turning the ball over and giving them fast-break baskets, uncontested layups,” said Anthony Parker. “The next game everybody will settle down, know what we’re up against. We should have a confident bunch of guys. . . . We didn’t play great, obviously, in the first half. We looked bad. And to still have a chance to be as close as we were. . . . It’s a case where we let one get away.”